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 Home > Learning Center > Musical instruments

Musical instruments

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Musical instruments have been part of the human experience since civilization first began, and probably much not longer. From the most rudimentary percussion instruments to the most advanced of today’s electronic instruments, each continues to be used to create new musical expressions and ideas. Music is an integral part of the human psyche and will continue to be as long as we require a creative outlet.

Musical instruments are divided into four basic categories; brass, woodwind, strings and percussion. Furthermore, within each of these categories exists a host of instruments of various sizes and design. While a musician might specialize on one particular instrument, it is common for a competent musician to play several from one or more of these categories.

Generally accepted as the oldest of musical instruments, percussion instruments have been with us for possibly tens of thousands of years. While there is no evidence of an exact point of invention, the earliest known instruments by archeologists are found in the form of drums and rattles. Since these pre-historic times, percussion instruments have expanded into a mind-boggling array of noise makers. Nearly every culture on earth can lay claim to at least a few indigenous percussive implements. The percussion family can be heard in virtually every genre of music known to man.

Stringed musical instruments are also some of the oldest known to mankind. Evidence of their popularity has been found dating to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Harps, lyre, and lutes were all known to exist as far back as 3000 BC. Today’s stringed instruments can be found in many different designs. Orchestral instruments such as the violin, cello and contrabass, as well as the piano are well known to most music lovers. Other popular string instruments include the guitar, sitar, ukulele and mandolin.

Woodwinds are musical instruments that produce their sound through the vibrations of a reed (as with a clarinet) or by blowing air across the opening of a cylinder (as with a flute). The oldest known woodwinds were assemblies of different length of pipe (usually made from hollowed reeds) that were arranged smallest to longest, or in pitch terms, highest to lowest. Woodwinds can generally be divided into three sub-categories; single reed, double reed, and no reed. Single reed instruments include the clarinet and saxophone, while double reed instruments include oboe and bassoon. Flutes fit into the third sub-category, as they do not use any reed to produce sound.

Brass instruments are musical instruments that produce sound by buzzing the lips against a mouthpiece. Because they have a limited number of valves, they rely heavily on the use of the overtone series in order to play chromatically. These instruments are first seen during the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. However, the instruments that most people would recognize as “brass instruments” didn’t evolve until roughly the 17th and 18th century. Modern brass instruments include trumpets, trombones, French horn and tuba.

Lastly, the most modern of all musical instruments are electronic in nature. Today there are electronic percussion, string, woodwind and brass instruments available to the musician. While many purists frown on many electronic instruments, they have gained a great deal of popularity with many younger musicians.

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